Malaysia’s Titan buys 55,000 tonnes naphtha for mid-July

SINGAPORE (ICIS)--Malaysia’s Titan Chemicals has bought 55,000 tonnes of spot full-range naphtha for delivery to Pasir Gudang in mid-July, traders said on Thursday.

The deal for the cargo was done at a discount of 50 cents/tonne (38 euro cents/tonne) Japan quotes CFR (cost & freight), they added.

The loading dates are 11-15 July, traders said.

The price differentials slipped into a negative territory because of overwhelming supply, they added.

“The prompt market is long on supply,” said one trader.

Despite of stable-to-firm gasoline blending demand, the naphtha market is hit by surplus material in the region, traders said.

Titan Chemicals previously bought by tender 120,000-130,000 tonnes of term naphtha supply for delivery to Pasir Gudang from July 2013 to June 2014, at a premium of around 75 cents/tonne to Japan quotes CFR on a 45-day pricing basis. Each cargo will have a volume of 25,000-32,500 tonnes.